


No Handlebars

by littlesaintmick



Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Everything Gets Bad in the second chapter i'm so sorry for what i'm gonna put y'all through, M/M, Tags to be added, anywho, fairly graphic discussions of self harm/abuse/sexual abuse, mentions of abuse, mentions of sexual abuse, not an ambreigns fic, oh yes it's another high school au from this bitch, okay TO CLARIFY FULLY THIS IS A MOXLEA FIC, this is about their pre ambreigns characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-02
Updated: 2018-10-26
Packaged: 2019-07-23 19:26:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16165391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlesaintmick/pseuds/littlesaintmick
Summary: leakee is struggling in school. there's a very smart, troubled new boy this year. what could possibly happen?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hey y'all. hopefully now that i have at least a chapter of this out of my fucking brain, i'll be able to update some stuff. or i'll just focus on this or the other moxlea au i'm working on. who knows :p

Leakee shifted uncomfortably in the chair, sat between his parents in front of the principal, the vice principal, his coaches, and two of his teachers, as he was. Despite what it may seem sometimes by his attitude, he actually very little liked for all of the attention in a room to be on him. Especially under these circumstances.

“-and we don’t want him to lose out on his football opportunities, of course, but the rules do say that if his GPA drops below a certain point-”

Leakee crossed his arms and uncrossed them, unable to really stay still. He hated this. He knew he was dumb, he just wished it wasn’t as a big deal.

“-we think we have a student coming in this year who would make a great tutor for him-”

God. It just got worse.    
\---

Jon spread his limbs out in the chair, smiling at the principal. If he couldn’t actually be relaxed, he could at least appear that way. Not let these guys see any weaknesses. The principal cleared his throat and clearly expected Jon to change his posture, but he didn’t.

No satisfaction for them, either.

“The administration here thinks that you would really benefit from having something...constructive, and helpful to do with your time.”

Jon’s smile turned to a frown real quick. He didn’t like the sound of that.

“We have a student-a lovely young man, one of our top football players-”

No.

“-and he’s….struggling, academically, and we thought with your test scores-”

_ No _ .

“-a tutoring opportunity would be perfect for you, and it would count towards your community service hours-”

Christ on a cracker. Jon hadn’t even started yet and they were already suckering him into a damn tutoring gig? No part of him wanted anything to do with being forced to teach some jackass jock how to do division. But he doubted he’d have much of a choice in the matter, given that the people from juvie had told him he had to do well in school this year, and that he couldn’t cause any trouble.

Though he had to wonder if vague threats were actually okay.

Jon frowned, but grunted out an agreement. That was all they’d get out of him.

\---

Leakee threw his head back and laughed. He loved his friends. He wrapped an arm around Alicia’s shoulders and smiled when she pressed up against him. John looked at something behind Leakee and nodded.

“Hey, there’s that new guy.”

Nikki made a face.

“The juvie kid?”

Leakee raised an eyebrow at that and turned his head. He knew the new person-whoever they were-was going to be tutoring him, and his eyes widened a little at the sight of the boy. 

He was very blatantly selling cigarettes to Corey and Tyler, Leakee noticed that first. He was tall, too, but skinny in a way that set off a pang of hunger in Leakee’s stomach. He was wearing a tight black shirt under a thick, baggy dark jacket, with a star spray-painted on the shoulder in bright pink. He had curly blondish-red hair that framed his round face, and Leakee only looked away when he realized his friends were still talking.

“-don’t know what he was in there for, but rumor is he burned something down-”

Leakee frowned. 

“It’s impolite to spread rumors, dude.”

Nikki rolled her eyes and reached up, patting Leakee on the head. 

“You’re so cute. C’mon, John, I need to find Brie. I think she’s with that Daniel guy again.”

Leakee shook his head as John and Nikki took off, talking about her sister and the boy who was courting her. Legitimately  _ courting _ . Leakee thought it was sweet. He leaned against the lockers and tried to subtly watch the new boy. When he looked to Alicia, he knew he’d been doing a bad job. 

“What?”

“Nothing…”

“Lici….”

Alicia grinned and shook her head, her newly-short hair shaking with the movement. Leakee liked the haircut. It was cute.   
“Nothing, I can just tell you think he’s cute.”

Leakee rolled his eyes. 

“Isn’t he the one who’s gonna be helping you out?”

“Yeah. Still not pumped about that.”

Alicia frowned. She was one of the very, very few people who knew about Leakee’s learning disabilities, and how he felt about them. They’d known each other for seven years and she was the closest thing he had to a best friend-even after having dated for a year.

Leakee wondered if it said anything about him that his longest relationship was with someone who turned out to be a lesbian. Though he assumed that if it did say something, that something would have to be good. 

“Maybe it’ll be okay? I’m sure he’s an alright guy, even with...all that. And I know you can do it, you just...have to find a way to learn that works for you, honey.”

Leakee stared at the ground, his arms crossed over his chest until Alicia leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. 

“C’mon. Let’s go get something to eat before class starts.”

Alicia tugged on his hand until Leakee gave in, smiling and following her lead, glancing back at the new boy as he did. 

\---

Homeroom started and Leakee sat between Alicia and Brie, still occasionally glancing to the other side of the room where the new boy was sitting. He wondered how many classes they’d have together as the teacher stood in front of them, handing out the syllabus and talking about it before pausing in front of the new kid. 

“Hello, you must be Jon Moxley. Would you like to introduce yourself to the class?”

“Nah.”

Leakee stared at him. Jon. He’d never seen someone just say no like that, so casually and easily. His posture was relaxed and open and still somehow just slightly aggressive. The teacher looked at him, eyes narrowed. Jon stared right back, easily defiant. The teached exhaled and moved on, talking about the class once again. Jon didn’t seem to care, from what Leakee could see, not paying particular attention to anything being said. Leakee was suddenly worried about the fact that Jon was supposed to be his tutor.

Leakee thought about it in the next two classes, which he also shared with Jon. He seemed to have the same attitude the whole time, uncaring and bored, and Leakee just….couldn’t figure him out. Leakee actually liked school, for the most part, but he got frustrated with his inability to learn easily. He didn’t understand why anyone who could do well with little-to-no problems would just not care. His fourth period wasn’t shared with Jon, nor were any of his other classes.

Though Leakee was relieved when he was finally able to get into his art class. He wasn’t a phenomenally talented artist, but he did enjoy it. There was something soothing and satisfying about being able to come up with an idea and execute it in a way that left visible evidence. Kind of like football. Leakee felt better when he was able to see clear change because of something he did. 

His last class of the day was gym, and that was even better. Exercise made him feel good, and he knew that, if nothing else, he was good at athletic things. That’s where most of his confidence came from, his ego swelling whenever he showed off physically. He was strong, he was fast, he was graceful, and people were proud of him when he did well in something sports related. Leakee was willing to admit he was shallow enough that that was important to him.

He wanted approval. It was one of the things motivating him to go along with this whole tutoring thing. 

They weren’t starting until Wednesday, he and Jon, but the principal wanted them to meet one-on-one before that, and he had to report to the principal’s office before leaving. He was relaxed, though, coming freshly showered and having exercised. The principal called him in, and Jon was already sitting there, in one of the chairs in front of the desk. 

“Leakee! Hello, I hope you had a good first day.”

“I did, thank you, Sir.”

“Leakee, this is Jon Moxley.”

Leakee sat and held his hand out to Jon, who waited a long minute before taking it, briefly squeezing before snatching his hand away. 

“Jon, you need to work with Leakee at least three times a week. Can you manage that?”

“Yeah, whatever.”

Leakee frowned. He supposed Jon wasn’t very excited about this, either. Though Leakee was wondering if Jon got excited about  _ anything _ .

“What days work best for you both?”

“Uh-I got practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays and Fridays-”

“I don’t care. Don’t got anything else to do.”

The principal was visibly frustrated with Jon, and Leakee tried not to feel uncomfortable at seeing an authority figure acting negatively.

“Mondays, Wednesdays, and if you’re up for it, Leakee, after practice on Fridays. Unless you’d like to spend some of your weekend working on this?”

Jon shrugged, making a noncommittal noise, and Leakee coughed.

“Maybe start with the three days and if...uh...if I need it, then do Saturdays, too?”

“Good idea. I know you’re both going to do very well with this.”   
\---

Leakee grunted and lifted the weight again. John was helpfully spotting him while Nikki ran on the treadmill nearby.

“What’s he like?”

Leakee rolled his eyes and set the weight back down, catching his breath. They were all intrigued-all of his friends-by Jon, and he knew it was only a matter of time before he was interrogated about him. At least they waited until they were in the gym, when they knew Leakee was going to be in a good mood. 

“He’s….quiet.”

That wasn’t entirely true. They’d had one session so far, that Wednesday, and Leakee had explained all of the things he had trouble with-which was...everything, essentially, but especially math and reading. Jon had listened quietly and stared at Leakee, before loudly asking him a few somewhat invasive questions. Leakee had, of course, countered back with equally invasive questions, and they’d both sat, glaring at each other, until Leakee had to leave for church. 

Leakee sighed. He didn’t want to be antagonistic with Jon. He honestly didn’t, because he wanted his help, and he knew Jon was smart enough to help him. He’d heard teachers talking about Jon, how he’d passed his ACT and SAT tests in  _ seventh grade _ , and how he’d breezed through every other test of intelligence he’d been given. One had said that he’d easily be valedictorian, if he just….cared. 

Alicia wiped the sweat from her brow and sat up, looking at Leakee and John. 

“You guys have tutoring again tomorrow, right?”

Leakee nodded. As far as John and Nikki and anyone else in their circle knew, Leakee was simply getting help for math class. No one but Alicia knew how far his problems reached, and he wanted to keep it that way.

“After practice, yeah.”

“Still can’t believe they bumped it up to three practices a week.”

Leakee was happy for the change of subject, and stood, getting ready to spot for John while he lifted. 

\---

Leakee strolled into the library, confident as he always was after practice. And, it was Friday, which meant he had the whole day to himself tomorrow to sleep and eat and not think about school. He spotted Jon, sitting at the spot they agreed to work in, a big table near a window in the corner. He sat across from Jon, smiling and relaxed. 

“Hey.”

“Mm.”   
Jon was writing something in a notebook, focused on the task and nothing else, and Leakee frowned. 

“Uh….should we get to work?”

Jon glanced up at him and sighed.”

“Give me a minute.”

Leakee waited and watched as Jon continued to write in his notebook, the handwriting almost illegible. It took him another two minutes and three pages-front and back- before he closed the notebook and sighed. He directed his big blue eyes at Leakee and Leakee had to force himself to keep eye contact. 

Jon wasn’t...intimidating, in the way Leakee knew most of the students thought he was. But he was every bit as intense as Leakee thought, more so, even in the short amount of time that they’d known each other. He was outspoken and blunt and did not care about what anyone thought. 

It was actually kind of refreshing. 

“‘kay. Pull out your math homework.”

Leakee didn’t argue, just pulling out his textbook and some paper to write the answers on. Jon sat on the table, cross-legged and uncaring of the librarian glaring at him. He pointed at the first problem.

“You should be able to do that one easy.”

Leakee stared at the page, working out the problem in his head and on the paper, the heat building in his face the longer it took. After a few minutes, Jon sighed. 

“C’mon, dude, this stuff is easy.”

Leakee glared at the page, taking a deep breath and speaking through gritted teeth.

“Not for me. I’m not good at math.”

“It’s a basic formula-”

“Yeah, and those formulas are fucking hard to learn.”

Jon slid off of the table and glared down at Leakee.   
“Don’t get tough with me, asshole, it’s not my fault-”

Leakee stood, using the few inches of height he had on Jon to try and get him to back down. He was much bigger, overall, but it didn’t deter Jon, who just  _ growled _ at him.

“What you gonna do, big guy? Huh? Gonna beat me up? Good luck passing your classes then.”

“I can find another tutor, Jon. Can you find another school?”

Jon snarled and shoved Leakee out of the way, grabbing his bag and staring Leakee down again.

“Fuck you. Do this shit yourself.”

Jon walked away, and Leakee ground his teeth together, standing there, fuming and embarrassed. He knew that was a mistake. He knew it was stupid of him to pick a fight with someone who could help him, and he knew he shouldn’t have said that about Jon, and he shouldn’t have tried to intimidate him. Leakee stuffed his book back into his backpack and left to the parking lot, getting into his car and starting on the drive home, berating himself for what he did the entire way. Even though he tried to be fair to himself-Jon had been aggressive and standoff-ish, too-he couldn’t help but think this whole thing was his fault. 

Leakee sat at a stop light for a long minute, and thought. He sighed, turning and heading away from home. He soon pulled into the parking lot of his church, taking a deep breath and putting his hair into a bun before going inside. 

He saw the pastor sitting where he usually did, at the first row of pews, writing something down with his bible next to him. Leakee didn’t make a sound as he walked up to the piano in the corner of the little raised stage. He took a seat, stretching his arms and cracking his knuckles before gently placing his fingers on the keys. 

The music flowed easily, Leakee’s mind clearing slowly as he played. He let his eyes slip shut, mindlessly playing out the song. The church was silent apart from that, the piano echoing in the room. Leakee finished, quietly, happily, and opened his eyes.

“Beautiful as always, son.”

Leakee turned and smiled at the pastor.

“Thank you, Father Rhodes.”

Dusty set his little notepad to the side, and Leakee turned to face him fully. 

“Sorry ‘bout just coming in here.”   
“Rough day?”

Leakee sighed, leaning his hands back on the bench.

“Yeah, you could say that.”

Dusty looked at him, silently encouraging him to explain. Leakee was happy to. He’d always come to Dusty in times of need, ever since he was younger.

“There’s….this guy...he’s my tutor, cause-of-you know. All my...problems with learning-”

Dusty nodded, solemn, but not pitying. Dusty himself had had similar problems in his youth, and it was one of the many, many reasons why Leakee felt safe there.

“He-I was really stupid and I got into a fight with him-not a hitting fight, just-you know, saying stuff-but….even though he was being aggressive, I shouldn’t have-I think I hurt his feelings, and I don’t ever try to be mean, but-I don’t know. It was stupid of me to make things worse. And...I don’t know, I guess it makes sense, why he was frustrated. It’s not easy to teach me.”

Dusty nodded again, humming quietly. 

“What’s this boy like?”

Leakee blinked.

“Uh….different. He’s-he’s…..honestly...kind of cool? Everyone at school, mostly everyone is scared of him or spreads rumors about him, cause he was in juvie and stuff-but. I don’t know, I don’t think he’s that scary or bad. Not really. Just kinda aggressive and he doesn’t seem to wanna talk to anyone. But I know he’s really really smart, too, like freaky smart.”

“You got into a fight with this boy and don’t have nothing bad to say ‘bout him?”

Leakee blushed. 

“Well….I mean...like I said...I get why he was mad. But-he’s not trying that hard, to teach me, it’s like-it’s like we’re speaking completely different languages, or something.”

“Sounds like you two just need to translate better.”

Leakee tilted his head, and Dusty stood, gathering up his notepad and his bible. 

“It sounds like this boy is having a rough time, Leakee. Find some common ground with him. Never seen you be unable to make a friend.”

Leakee smiled and reached up, brushing a strand of hair behind his ear. 

“I’ll try. I don’t wanna fight with him, and-I wanna pass my classes this year. I only barely passed last year.”

Dusty came and stood next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. Leakee stared down at the floor, and Dusty patted his back.

“You know what, Cody is gonna be getting out of school soon, I’m sure he’d be happy to see you. Why don’t you come on over for dinner? Dustin’s in town, too.”

Leakee looked up at the pastor, sniffling a little and nodding.    
“Thanks, Father Rhodes.”

\---

Leakee’s back straightened when he saw Jon going up to his locker. 

“Hey, can y’all excuse me for a minute?”

He made his way up to Jon, clearing his throat to get his attention. Jon glanced at him, but only for a second.

“What?”

Leakee bit his lip. 

“Uh...I-I’m sorry. For Friday. That-I was being a dick, and-like, I was frustrated, cause-I was frustrated. I shouldn’t have been rude. I’m sorry.”

Jon turned and glared at Leakee. 

“You just saying that so you won’t fail your classes?”

Leakee frowned, scratching at his arm and shifting.

“No, I’m-I-we were both really frustrated and I escalated it, and-yeah. I don’t really-if you don’t wanna be my tutor anymore, that’s cool, I just. I didn’t want you to think I was like...that much of a shithead, and...I mean….”

Leakee quieted, and they both didn’t really look at each other, until Leakee heard a quiet sigh. 

“God, dude, whatever, I’m sorry too, let’s just...fuckin’ ignore it and do our work.”

Leakee brightened and smiled. 

“Really?”

Jon nodded, still looking away from him, but Leakee smiled. 

“Cool, I’ll-I’ll see you after-”

“Yeah, I gotta go for right now, I’ll-yeah. See you in class.”

Leakee bit his lip and walked back over to his friends, trying to keep down his excitement. He really did like Jon, so far, and he knew that at least one of his friends could tell. He doubted that Jon was quite as excited as he was, but Leakee was pleased. He wrapped one arm around Alicia’s waist and the other around Charlotte’s, the tall blonde resting her head on his shoulder as they talked amongst themselves.

\---

It’d been three weeks, and they at least hadn’t fought anymore. Not really.

Leakee groaned and rested his head on the table, banging his forehead on it a few times.

“Dude….it’s okay, it’s just fuckin’ English class. You can bullshit your way through this is you want.”

Leakee peeked up at Jon, frowning and sighing. 

“It’s stupid. I should be able to do this.”

Jon moved from sitting on the table to the seat next to Leakee. He nudged him, until Leakee sat up, and he slouched, crossing his arms over his chest. He was pouting, he knew it, but he didn’t care. This was stupid. He was stupid. 

“Okay, so-like-shit, dude, what is the problem you’re having? Is it-like physically reading, or is it like understanding the story?”

“I don’t know!”

Leakee looked away from Jon, biting his lip. He hated his trouble with reading the most. He didn’t even like texting because of it, because he couldn’t gauge tone over text, and he always ended up thinking people were mad at him and he couldn’t tell when people were joking. Leakee sniffled and rubbed the back of his hand over his face.

“Sorry for-that, but-I don’t know, I don’t-I can never understand what I’m supposed to be feeling when I’m reading this shit.”

Jon was quiet, and he glanced at him, to see that Jon had a peculiar look on his face. 

“What do you mean how you’re ‘supposed’ to feel?”

Leakee shrugged. 

“You know, like….am I supposed to feel sad? Or sympathetic? I know with all of these stories there’s a point you’re supposed to get but-like, with this-this hero dude, Beowulf-I’m supposed to be rooting for him, right? Cause he’s the big hero of the story, but…”

“But?”

“But he’s an ass, dude. He goes around killing all these monsters-like, why does he get to decide if they’re monsters? How are him and his people any better? And then it gets to the dragon and that’s even stupider because like, I’m obviously supposed to see the dragon as like, a villain, I guess, but-I don’t. Not really.”

Leakee fidgeted with his hands on the table, glancing back at Jon.

“Sorry. Don’t know what I’m talking about, I never do.”

“You talk shit about yourself a lot, dude.”

Leakee turned and stared at Jon. He was relaxed, leaning back to put a boot up on the table. The librarian coughed behind them, but, as per usual, Jon paid her no mind. 

“What?”

“You just told me a totally valid reading of the story. Why do you think you’re stupid?”

“Come on. Like you don’t think the same thing-”

“Don’t assume you know what I’m thinking. Ever.”

There was a hint of threat in his tone, and Leakee could respect that. He didn’t like when people talked down to him or pitied him, either, so he could understand where Jon was coming from.

“Leakee, I gotta be honest. I did think you were stupid, at first. Figured you were just some idiot jock who didn’t want to work to pass anything, and I figured you were gonna just make me do all your work for you-or you’d try, cause I ain’t letting that happen-”

Leakee looked down at his hands, but smiled at that. In the time that they’d known each other, that had been proven very true. 

“-but you’re not stupid, dude, you’ve got a fucking learning disability or some shit. That’s not the same and you don’t have to like, fuckin’ bully yourself over it. You’re actually trying, too, which is….like..better than most people do. Chill out with yourself. All those insults are gonna build up.”

Leakee was quiet for a few minutes, thinking about what Jon said. 

“...I know. I know it’s-not good for me, or whatever, but-it’s hard, I guess.”

Leakee looked over at Jon, inhaling deeply. 

“I mean-I dunno, everyone expects a lot of me and I’m supposed to do really good at everything-and I can’t do really basic crap, you know? Even though everyone I know-no one really insults me-but there’s always like….that pity, you know?”

Jon snorted.

“Yeah, I feel that. People pull that shit when they find out about my situation.”

“What do you mean?”

“Went to juvie, I’m in foster care. Everyone acts like they gotta feel bad for me and they don’t. I don’t want anyone to feel bad for me. If I can deal with my life, everyone else can, too.”

Leakee bit his lip, turning his body more fully, looking at Jon and leaning forward. 

“How do you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Not care. About what people are gonna think of you. I’m-shit, dude, I’m really shallow. I want approval and attention and all that shit, and it’s one of the reasons why not being able to do math or reading or anything like that gets to me-like, I feel like I’m gonna get made fun of or shit like that, how do you just-turn that part of your brain off?”

Jon sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“I don’t know, dude. I don’t think I have turned it off. Like-I guess I just decided it wasn’t worth my time? Not really, I mean...what does it matter? What effect are these people gonna have on my fuckin’ life that’s so big that I gotta give a rat’s ass? I know people here don’t like me. Ain’t really gave ‘em a reason to, and I know people spread rumors about me-but that’s not too bad, you can use that-but like. It’s just not worth caring about. If no one’s gonna like me, then fine. I’ll still be here, doing what I want.”

Leakee swallowed nervously before speaking quickly, an embarrassed flush spreading across his face. 

“Not everyone here doesn’t like you, I like you.”

They were both quiet for a minute. Jon’s cheeks had turned red and Leakee cleared his throat.

“I mean-I don’t-I like you. I like working with you and hanging out with you, and stuff. I mean-I think people would like you if they knew you. More, I mean. I don’t know you….super well, but-I want to-I’m gonna stop now.”

Jon was still quiet, and Leakee stared down at his hands, his face furiously hot. He wished his hair was down so that he could hide in it. 

“Uh...Leakee-shit, do you wanna like-are you busy after this?”

Leakee looked up. Jon seemed tense, which was unusual. He was generally very laid-back and relaxed, at least appearing that way. 

“N-no, I’m not-I don’t have plans. Uh. Do you wanna-you can come over, if you want? I mean-I’d like-you could stay for dinner, and...if you want.”

Leakee had never been that stilted and awkward when asking someone to come to his house. He wasn’t even asking Jon on a date, but he felt more anxious than he ever had the times he was asking someone out. Jon blushed again, his pale, round cheeks flushing a bright pink. 

“I-yeah. That’d be cool.”

Leakee bit his lip, trying to mask a smile.

“Cool. Uh-do you have a car or-”

“Nah. Uh. I walk, to and from.”

“Oh-c’mon, then, my mom’s expecting me home soon anyway-”

Jon still seemed tense, as they got into Leakee’s car and started on the way to his house, his hands tightly clasped in his lap.

“Uh...you don’t have to worry, my parents are pretty chill. If you don’t-”

“I’ll be fine. Just not used to-going to people’s houses.”

Leakee frowned at that, but kept driving. It wasn’t a long ride to his home, and he stretched as he got out of the car, smiling under the warmth of the sun. It hadn’t gotten cold yet, thank God, and Leakee was trying to enjoy it as much as possible. Jon followed him into the house, standing nervously behind him as he walked into the kitchen.

“You want something to drink?”

“Uh….water, I guess.”

Leakee tossed him a bottle of water and led him to the backyard, where his mom was mowing. He waved at her to get her attention, and she smiled, turning the mower off and jogging up to them. She hugged Leakee and kissed his cheek. 

“Hey sweetie.”

“Hi, Mom. This is Jon-”

“Oh! The tutor! It’s nice to finally meet you! Thank you for helping my son out.”

“It’s nothing. Uh. Do you need any help out here?”

Leakee looked at Jon with wide, shocked eyes. His mother smiled and patted Jon on the shoulder.

“Oh, thank you, Jon, but that’s alright. What do you like to eat, honey, I’ll make you guys something special?”

Jon had a very deer in the headlights look, which Leakee had never seen on him before. It was...pretty cute, if he had to admit.

“Uh….I don’t-anything is alright with me, ma’am. Thank you.”

“Well, we could always order pizza, if that’s alright.”

Jon nodded, and Leakee smiled, nodding at him and leading him back into the house, to his room. He dropped his bag onto the floor and flopped onto the bed, sighing and taking a second to relax. He sat up, crossing his legs and patting the mattress. Jon was standing against the door, clearly unsure of himself.

“C’mon, you can sit down. Wanna watch something? Or we could play something-”

“Your house is huge.”

Leakee tilted his head. He hadn’t ever really thought about it, but he supposed his house was fairly big. Three bedrooms and two bathrooms, good front and back yards. Jon sat on the bed, scooting up until his back was against the wall. He pulled his jacket tighter around himself and Leakee frowned.

“Are you okay?”

Jon shifted and brushed his hair behind his ear. 

“I….guess, uh-just not used to places like this. Uh. Nice places.”

Leakee blinked and grabbed the remote off of his nightstand, tossing it at Jon. It landed in his lap and Jon stared at it. 

“Well….guess I’ll have to bring you around more so you can get used to it.”

Leakee laid back on the bed and Jon didn’t do anything for a few minutes, but he turned on the tv and pulled his boots off, moving to sit a little closer to Leakee as he scrolled through the channels.

\---

“-and I hated that fuckin’ show-”

“Me too! It was awful! Everyone I know was talking about it and I gave it a shot but...it was just..I mean I see what they were going for, but it just-”

“It was a racist shitshow, Leakee, you can say it.”

Leakee laughed and nodded. He and Jon had gotten onto the subject of shows and movies that everyone else seemed to love, but they hated, and Leakee was discovering they had incredibly similar opinions about a lot of things. 

“It really was-dude, the lady who made it-I swear she hates people of color-”

“Yeah, but everyone was so caught up in the gay rep-”

“That it didn’t even matter!”   
Jon was honestly smiling, his body relaxed, leaning on one elbow next to Leakee. He had even pulled off his jacket, leaving him in just the tight thermal shirt he wore. It showed off how tiny his waist was, and Leakee wasn’t too proud to admit it was a nice sight. 

“And like-obviously, gay rep is good, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of others. Like...how hard is it to not be racist?”

Leakee huffed.

“Speaking from experience, hard.”

Jon moved to lay on his front, resting his head on his forearms. Leakee turned his head to look at him, feeling comfortably warm as he heard the front door opening. He sat up, nudging Jon.

“C’mon, my dad’s home.”

Jon seemed hesitant, but he followed, and Leakee grinned and hugged his dad tight. 

“Hey, son.”

“Hey. Dad-”

Leakee stepped back, moving to stand next to Jon. 

“-Dad, this is Jon. He’s the friend that’s tutoring me.”   
Jon held out his hand, back straight and head up, unwilling to show any sort of fear, and Leakee bit the inside of his lip. His father shook Jon’s hand, looking him up and down for a long moment, before easily smiling and reaching out, patting Jon on the shoulder.

“It’s nice to meet you! Leakee has talked about you. Thank you for taking the time to help him, a lot of people wouldn’t be kind enough to do so.”

Jon blushed, shoving his hands in his pockets, and, unconsciously, so far as Leakee could tell, shifting closer to Leakee. 

“It’s...really nothing…”

Leakee’s father smiled at them, squeezing Jon’s shoulder again. 

“Your mom’ll be home with dinner soon. Jon, are you staying the night?”

“Oh-uh-I dunno-”

Leakee’s father hummed, turning and heading to the living room.

“Let me know what you two decide!”

Jon’s body visibly dropped the tension it held, and he let out a loud breath, leaning against the wall. Leakee smiled at him, ducking his head a little to make eye contact with him.

“You okay?”

Jon nodded. 

“Yeah. Just...I’m not used to this.”

Leakee moved closer, standing in front of Jon. Not close enough to lock him in or make him feel trapped, just enough to feel….intimate, for lack of a better word.

“Like I said, gonna have to get you used to it.”

Jon coughed and brushed a piece of hair behind his ear, and the front door opened again. Leakee and Jon both moved to help Leakee’s mother, grabbing the food from her and carrying it to the kitchen. 

“Thank you, boys. Have at it, there’s plenty.”

Leakee noticed Jon’s hesitancy to take anything, and he nudged him with his elbow.

“Go on, dude, there’s enough for all of us. My family are all big eaters.”

Jon still seemed wary, and Leakee….couldn’t quite figure out why. Jon hadn’t been like this at all in the time that Leakee had known him, and of course he still didn’t know quite a whole lot about him, but he wanted to. That’s why he’d brought him to his home, so they could get to know each other, and he’d….loved it, so far. Jon was so funny and smart and they had so much in common, which was surprising. He figured with how different their lives had been, there wouldn’t have been many opportunities for them to have similar views on things, but they did. Even on trivial things, like what flavors of ice cream were overrated. 

Leakee hummed, grabbing one entire pizza box out of the stack of four, checking to see what kind it was. 

“Pepperoni cool with you?”

Jon nodded, and Leakee handed him the box, stacking a smaller box of brownies on top of it.

“I’mma get us something to drink, you take that to the room.”

Jon blinked at him, before doing what Leakee had asked. He set about grabbing two glasses from the cabinet when his mother spoke.

“Is he alright?”

“I dunno, Mom. I mean….he just keeps saying he’s ‘not used to this’, but I don’t know what he means by that. I just hope he’s not uncomfortable.”

His mother came up to his side and hugged him, brushing his hair away from his face. 

“I’m sure he’ll open up, honey.”

Leakee smiled, bumping his forehead against his mom’s, and finished getting soda and water for himself and Jon. He wasn’t completely shocked to see that Jon hadn’t eaten, given how he’d acted earlier. He sat back on the bed with him, handing Jon one of the glasses.

“If you’re not hungry, you don’t have to eat, but I really shouldn’t finish that whole thing on my own. And I could. I just shouldn’t.”

Jon rolled his eyes, but smiled, and Leakee watched as he took a slice. 

“Fine. Helping you out all the time anyway, might as well…”

\---

Leakee hadn’t felt this comfortable with someone in….possibly ever. Other than Alicia, but this did feel different. He couldn’t put his finger on it, as he laid next to Jon-who was sitting up, reading off a post on some website to Leakee, and Leakee’s eyes began to slip shut a little. He was full of good food and warm and Jon’s voice was soothing and sweet. He blinked when Jon shoved at his shoulder.

“Hey, ‘s rude to fall asleep like that when people’s talking to you.”

Leakee laughed and rolled onto his side. 

“Sorry. Just got comfortable. Uh-it is kinda late, though-”

Jon looked at the clock on his phone and his eyes widened for a brief second. The expression worried Leakee, and Jon began putting his things together.

“Uh-shit-I gotta get home-”

Leakee tried not to let his disappointment show. 

“Oh...uh...guess you won’t be staying, then?”

Jon paused in the middle of pulling his shoes back on. 

“I...really-I can’t. Sorry. I want-I can’t. My foster parents’ll-they like me to be home before ten.”

Leakee knew he probably looked upset, because Jon bumped his shoulder with his.

“You doing anything tomorrow?”

“No, not that I can think of.”

“Wanna work on your essay?”

Leakee brightened, nodding and standing to pull on a pair of slides, grabbing his keys from the ring next to his door. 

“Yeah, I’d-yeah, I’d like that. Wanna just….work over here?”

Jon stood, throwing his backpack over his shoulder and grabbing his jacket. He had a small, sweet smile on his face, his pink tongue darting out to wet his lips.

“That sounds good.”

“I’ll….I’ll give you a ride home.”

They stopped by Leakee’s parent’s bedroom so that Jon could say bye to them, his shoulders tense again as he did. He relaxed when they were in the car, Leakee putting in the directions to Jon’s address, then finding a playlist he liked for driving at night. The drive was quiet, for the first few minutes, and they both had their windows rolled down to let the warm air in. 

“You listen to Lorde?”

Leakee rolled his eyes.

“Yes, she’s good. Shut up.”

“I didn’t say nothing one way or the other.”   
“What kind of music do you like?”

“I dunno. Punk, mostly. Johnny Cash.”

Leakee glanced at Jon, grinning.    
“You’ve kind of got the whole ‘man in black’ aesthetic. ‘Cept the hair.”

“Oh, who needs to shut up now?”

They talked through the rest of the drive, and Leakee realized that it was kind of a long trip. He remembered Jon saying that he walked to and from school, and he frowned when they finally reached the house. It wasn’t…..particularly attractive, but it wasn’t quite dilapidated, either. Leakee licked his lips and grabbed Jon’s wrist.

“Hey, uh-do you want-it’s kind of a long way from here to school, and...uh..do you want-I could give you a ride, in the mornings and after, if you wanted. Might get more life out of those boots.”

Jon stared at him, the lights above the door and in the middle of the ceiling lighting him. He really was very good-looking, the yellowish light darkening his eyes.

“I don’t-wanna impose, or something-and you don’t gotta feel like you need to pay me back or something-”

“I don’t-that’s not it. I want to.”

They stared at each other, and Jon nodded. 

“Y-yeah. Okay. Uh. Just-can you pick me up at the corner? With the stop sign?”

Leakee was wary of that, but he agreed. Jon moved to get out of the car, closing the door before leaning down, looking through the still-open window. 

“Leakee?”

“Yeah?”

“I had….this was nice. Uh. Thanks for...not thinking I’m a total dick, or something.”

Leakee grinned.

“Well, you’re kind of a dick. But I like it. Text me tomorrow when you’re ready?”

Jon smirked and laughed, biting his lip and looking at Leakee in a way that made Leakee’s stomach feel light. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Leakee stayed until Jon was in the house and the front door had closed, unable to keep the smile off his face the entire way home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a whole goddamn lot happens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay i do NOT know what happened here, maybe it's because of everything that's been happening since joe's announcement and what i've been feeling but this got LONG and this got DRAMATIC and i did not intend that, this is the second chapter for christ's sake, but. yeah. this is intense. there's some pretty unpleasant discussions of abuse and self harm, so like. tread lightly. god. it's so long. i don't know what the hell happened.

Jon pulled his jacket around himself tight, squeezing himself. He was sitting on the curb, waiting for Leakee. It wasn’t particularly cold out yet-it would be soon, but not yet-he just...needed to be covered. A long-sleeve shirt and a flannel and a jacket wasn’t enough material between him and the world.

He looked up as Leakee’s car stopped in front of him, and he got in quickly. The faster he got further away from his house, the better. It helped-Jon would never admit-that Leakee smiled brightly at him as he buckled his seatbelt.

“Morning.”

“Morning.”   
Leakee started on the way to school, and Jon shut his eyes, leaning his head back. He felt calmer already, like he could even take his jacket off. He felt safer with Leakee than anywhere else and hated thinking about that. He hated getting close to people, he always crashed and burned and fucked up the friendship. Leakee seemed….determined, though, to keep Jon around. They’d been friends for three weeks now, hanging out four or five times a week, sometimes not even to study. Leakee would just have Jon come over or they’d go someplace-the mall, to run errands, Jon had even come to Leakee’s practice one Friday. He hadn’t made it to any of the games, but he found himself wanting to.

He didn’t even like football. 

“Jon?”

Jon opened his eyes, looking over at Leakee. They were in the parking lot of the school, and Leakee looked concerned.

“You okay, man?”

Jon nodded, rubbing his hands over his face.

“Yeah, I’m...yeah. Tired, I guess. Didn’t sleep a lot last night.”

Which was true. He hadn’t been able to, between his blanket having been co-opted by his ‘sister’-the biological daughter of his foster parents-and the presence of her boyfriend. Jon never slept when he was there. He knew the guy would come into his room if he knew Jon was asleep. 

Jon shook his head to clear himself of those thoughts. He didn’t need to have his mind on...that. Leakee put his hand very softly on Jon’s arm and squeezed a little. It didn’t feel threatening or anything, just...comforting. 

“If you want, you and Brie can switch seats in first hour, I can cover you while you sleep.”

Jon laughed. 

“Thanks, but I’ll be okay.”

Leakee bit his lip.

“Well….maybe we can skip tutoring today, and you can just….come over and nap?”

Jon blushed, thinking about that-sleeping in Leakee’s bed, feeling annoyed at himself for blushing-and he shrugged. 

“Nah, dude-you got that test coming up, we gotta study for that.”

Leakee frowned, and they got out of the car, Leakee sticking close to him. Jon appreciated it, honestly. Leakee was about the only person in the world who was allowed to hover over him like that, and Jon felt a touch embarrassed when Leakee ignored his own group of friends to stand with Jon as he put things in his locker. He felt something hit the back of his head and turned, seeing a crumpled-up piece of paper on the ground and Tyler walking up to him, chewing gum.

“That better be fuckin’ nicotine gum, not selling you anymore smokes.”

“Asshole. Not here for that. You busy next weekend?”

Jon shut his locker and leaned against it.

“I dunno. Probably not. Why?”

“There’s a band playing at the Eighty-Ninth Street Conservatory that you might like. Figured I’d tip you off.”

“That a club?”

“Yeah, but they let in people our age if you slip the bouncer a twenty.”

Jon shrugged.

“Huh. I’ll think about it.”

Jon noticed Tyler looking at Leakee, one eyebrow raised. 

“So…..you still sticking with that tutoring thing?”

Jon rolled his eyes. Tyler had no goddamn tact.

“Yeah, I am. Got a problem with it?”

“No, of course not. Good for you.”

There was a touch of sarcasm in it, and Jon glanced at Leakee, seeing that he was uncomfortable. Jon had learned to cut back on his own sarcasm because he knew it made Leakee feel weird, and he-despite how he’d act around literally anyone else in the entire world-didn’t want Leakee to feel bad when they were together. Or at all.

Ugh. Feelings were gross. Jon glared at Tyler.

“Fuck off, dude.”

Tyler shrugged and walked away, popping his gum as he did. Jon scratched at his elbow, standing in front of Leakee.

“I’m-sorry about him, he’s a fuckin’ idiot.”

Leakee’s voice was unusually quiet, and he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Think it’s clear which one of us was the idiot in that.”

Jon frowned, stepping a little closer to Leakee.

“Hey, don’t start with that. You’re not an idiot, Lea, don’t let anyone make you feel like you are.”

Leakee looked up when someone called his name-one of his preppy friends-and he bit his lip.

“I’m trying, I-I gotta go see what they want.”

Jon nodded,starting to turn and make his way to the classroom, but Leakee reached out and grabbed his arm.

“Wait, I-you can come over there with me.”

“Don’t really think your friends’ll like me, dude.”

Leakee still had his hand on Jon’s arm.

“Well...so? If no one can make me feel bad about stuff, then-what anyone else thinks about you doesn’t matter either. And-you’re my friend, as much as any of them are.”

Jon blushed-he absolutely hated that he was blushing so goddamn much-and he kicked at the floor for a minute before shifting to stand a little closer to Leakee. 

“Fine. Guess I can hang around your rich friends for a minute.”

Leakee smiled, and it was really hard to be mad when he was smiling like that. He walked over to his friends, who were in front of his locker, and Jon followed, still extremely hesitant about this entire thing. He’d never talked to any of these people, though he knew about them through Leakee-John and his girlfriend Nikki and her twin sister Brie, and Leakee’s closest friend, Alicia. There were a few others that hung around them, but it was just those four for now.

And they all stared at him, as he stood at Leakee’s side while he put things in his own locker.

“Oh-I guess I should officially introduce y’all-Jon, this is-well, John-and Nikki, Brie, and Alicia.”

Jon nodded, but didn’t say anything. He didn’t have anything to say to these people.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Jon.”

“Yeah...Leakee has talked about you a lot.”

Jon did perk up at that. Leakee had told his friends about him?

“Uh-actually, Jon, can I talk to you over here for a minute?”

Jon tried not to go into a mild panic attack as he followed Alicia to the stairwell-Leakee nodded at him, smiling encouragingly, and...it did actually help. Alicia stood in front of him and Jon looked up, surprised to see that her eyes were wet.

“Thank you, so, so much.”

“W-for what?”

“For helping Leakee. He-I assume you know how...that his learning problems are pretty deep, and-you’re really helping him, and it just-it means a lot to me, to see him getting that sort of help, and that he has a friend like you.”

Jon crossed his arms over his chest. 

“Not doing anything special...just don’t want the guy to fail.”

Alicia gave him a look, but didn’t press. He got the unnerving feeling that she knew something, that she somehow knew that he Felt Things for Leakee.   
“Still, thank you. He really….he needs someone like you.”

She seemed to sense his discomfort and cut the talk off there, both of them walking back to the other four. Leakee easily bumped his shoulder against Jon’s, and Brie and Alicia joining them as they walked to their first class of the day. Brie tried to talk to him, somewhat, and he-after looking at Leakee’s hopeful, big, beautiful brown eyes-at least tried to talk back to her. 

\---

Jon’s eyes went wide as Leakee ran up to him, wrapping his arms around Jon tight and lifting him up, spinning him in a circle. Jon just let it happen.

“Uh-Lea-”

“I got a B!”   
Jon looked down at Leakee-still held up in the air as he was-and smiled.

“On that math test?”

“Yeah, I-I got-we got the tests back today and I got a B, I-I’ve never gotten a grade that high on a math-on anything with numbers-”

Leakee set him on the ground but still held him tight, pulling him into a proper hug. Jon didn’t quite know what to do with that, because he wasn’t...actually sure he could remember the last time anyone touched him like this. With no violence, just loving intentions. He did cave, letting himself melt a little into Leakee’s arms. He was so warm and big and soft, and even though there were tons of people around them, Jon felt safe doing this.

“God-thank you, Jon-I’ve never-this was-”   
“Hey, man, don’t-go getting mushy on me, now-”

Leakee pulled away, wiping his hand over his eyes. 

“Can’t help it, I-let’s skip tutoring today, I wanna take you to dinner or something-”

“You don’t have to-”

“I want to.”

Leakee’s voice was quiet and set, and Jon felt his face heat up when he realized Leakee was still holding him close. 

“I….I guess, ain’t gonna turn down a free meal.”

Leakee grinned and hugged Jon again, Jon hesitantly wrapping his arms around Leakee’s thick waist. 

“I-I really don’t-no one’s ever helped me like you helped me, Jon. I’m really happy you’re my friend-”

“I’m...I’m happy you’re my friend, too, Lea.”

Jon’s eyes widened when Leakee kissed his temple, before pressing his forehead to Jon’s. 

“Can I walk you to your next class?”

Jon nodded, unable to really say anything, holding his notebook tight in his arms and trying to hide his smile. 

\---

Jon walked into his house, flinching at the sound of his foster mother’s voice. 

“Where have you been?”

“Tutoring. It’s Wednesday, I always have tutoring then.”

His foster mother snorted. 

“Don’t see why they let  _ you _ tutor anyone.”

Jon turned away and went to his room, throwing his backpack on his bed and laying next to it. He was happy Leakee already bought him some food, he didn’t want to have to leave his room for the night. Not that it was comfortable. Jon winced as he felt something scratch his thigh, sitting up and rearranging the old clothes stuffed into the mattress until the springs that poked out were covered again. Jon sighed. He at least wished he had another blanket to put between him and the mattress. It was still a little better than the wood floors, even with the occasional scratching and stabbing.

Jon grabbed his backpack and curled up around it. He wished he was in Leakee’s bed. Hell, he wished he was anywhere but here. Anywhere with Leakee was just the most preferable option. Jon closed his eyes, trying to ignore the sounds of his foster parents and sister. At least her boyfriend probably wouldn’t be coming around tonight, he wouldn’t have to half-sleep with a switchblade gripped in his hand. 

He did want to sleep, though. He was tired whenever he was here, and he imagined himself laying on Leakee’s big, comfortable bed, the other boy’s arms around him. Feeling Leakee’s warmth surrounding him, like it always did when they were together. Jon curled up tighter, pulling his one blanket around himself and trying to move off of the pointy parts of the bed. 

\---

“-and you just add that to the nine and-”

“I get-yeah, I get that!”

Jon would probably never, ever get tired of seeing how Leakee’s face brightened up whenever something clicked in his head, how excited he sounded. Jon bit his lip, watching as Leakee worked through the next part of the problem. It still took him a while, but he had improved a lot, since they started. 

It was November, now, and Jon was unbearably and unfortunately deeply caught in his feelings for Leakee. He absolutely hated it, and he’d filled up at least twenty-three notebooks since he’d met Leakee, his thoughts straying to the boy more and more. He was happy he found a good hiding place for those damn things, if Leakee ever found one, he’d probably jump into traffic. 

Jon and Leakee both looked up at the sound of a quiet moan.

“The hell is that?”

Jon sighed.

“Tyler and his new boyfriend. He doesn’t go here, but Tyler sneaks him in when he’s got detention or shit like that. That kid’s gonna fail on disciplinary shit.”

Not that Jon disliked Tyler’s boyfriend; Prince-he hadn’t told anyone but Tyler his real first name-was actually pretty fun. He and Jon were pretty much the same type of asshole, it was nice.

“Are they gonna have sex in here?”

“Maybe. Think they already have somewhere on school grounds.”

Jon noticed Leakee’s cheeks flushing a bit, and he pushed his hair over one shoulder, playing with it like he always did when he was nervous or embarrassed. Jon grinned, nudging Leakee with his elbow.

“Wanna go watch?”

Leakee looked at him with huge eyes and his back straightened, clearing his throat. 

“I-I don’t think that’d be right, watching...without them knowing, or-”

“Dude, I can guarantee that Prince, at least, does not give a rat’s ass.”

Leakee ducked his head down, biting his lip. God, he had really gorgeous lips. They were so full and they looked so plush and pretty…

Jon shook his head. He had to stop fantasizing about him.

“I….maybe just to see….”

Jon grinned and grabbed Leakee’s hand, following the sounds of kissing. They kept quiet until they found the pair, Tyler holding Prince up against one of the bookcases. They were still clothed-Jon was a little relieved-but they were going at each other, one of Tyler’s hands shoved underneath Prince’s shirt. Jon looked at Leakee, watching his reactions; his eyes were a little wide, lips just barely parted. He was intently looking at Tyler and Prince, eyes going a little wider when Prince gasped and squeezed Tyler with his legs.

“Mmm-Ty-”

“Wanna go all the way, your Highness?”

Jon had to keep from snorting. Tyler managed to be an ass even now.

“Mmm, not here, Ty-let’s get home, I wanna really play-”

Jon had no idea what that meant, but he grabbed Leakee’s hand and pulled him away, the two of them hiding behind another row where they wouldn’t be seen. Jon had to cover his mouth to keep from giggling, and he-without thinking-pressed himself against Leakee to hide his face. Leakee seemed a little frozen, and Jon looked up at him.

“What’s wrong?”

“Uh….kinda...that-watching that got-”

Leakee refused to make eye contact with him, and Jon  _ felt _ why. He blushed and grinned. 

“Aw, Lea, that’s perfectly normal-”

“Oh, shut up.”

Jon felt Leakee relax and he laughed again. 

“C’mon, let’s finish up for the day.”

Jon grabbed Leakee’s hand again-it felt so natural to do so-and led him back to the table with all of their things. Leakee scooted his chair a little closer to Jon as they kept working, and he seemed to have fully relaxed after the brief show they’d just been witness to.

“Hey, I actually-I wanted to ask you something.”

Jon blinked at Leakee, giving him his attention.

“What?”

“Do you have any plans for Thanksgiving?”

Jon tried not to let the disappointment show on his face. He didn’t, while his foster family did. They were going to to see their real relatives, while Jon...stayed home, and probably ate ramen or something similar. 

“Not-no, not really. Foster family doesn’t really do holidays.”

Leakee frowned.

“Well...that kinda works out, cause I wanted to ask if you’d like to join me and my family for Thanksgiving?”

Jon stared at Leakee, without speaking, for at least a full minute. Leakee started to look worried.

“Jon? Are you-are you okay?”

Jon opened his mouth and shut it again. He did that a few times, before blinking again.

“I-uh…..I don’t...know if I’m the kind of person you should be inviting to family functions.”

Leakee tilted his head, his brown eyes warm and soft and a little confused.

“Why not? You’re my friend, I love you, I like being around you.”

The ‘L’ word very present in that sentence did not escape Jon, and he inhaled sharply when he heard it. Leakee loved him? Even in a non-romantic sense, that….took Jon by surprise.

“I...cause I’m me? I’m-you know, an asshole, I’d-your family would hate me-”

Leakee smiled and shook his head, gently placing his hand on Jon’s arm.

“No, they won’t. My parents already love you, and I know I got some cousins you’d dig.”

Jon shifted away a little, crossing his arms over his chest and pulling his jacket tighter around himself. 

“If...you really want me there, I guess I can-starting to think you’re trying to fatten me up, with how much you feed me.”

Leakee laughed, moving closer to Jon again, until he could press his shoulder against him. 

“Maybe a little bit, gotta help you fill out that jacket a little more.”

Jon blushed and rolled his eyes, elbowing Leakee in the side. 

\---

Jon sat on the swing, not really paying attention to his surroundings. Tyler groaned and jumped down from the monkey bars he’d been climbing all over. 

“Dude, will you brighten up? You’re no fun to pick on if you don’t reciprocate.”

“Surprised you even know that word.”

Tyler laughed and spit out his gum, replacing it quickly with another piece.

“There you go. There’s the asshole I know.”

Jon rolled his eyes and sighed. Tyler came over, leaning on the frame of the swingset.

“What is up with you? We’re out of school for a few days, you get to go ride hot football player dick, you should be over-fucking-joyed right now.”

“I’m not gonna ride his dick, asshole. I-we’re not like that.”

“Uh-huh. Sure you’re not.”

Jon frowned. He didn’t understand how he’d come to think of Tyler as a friend, but he had. What the hell was wrong with him?

“We’re not. We’re friends. Don’t be a dick just cause you’re unpopular.”   
Tyler grinned.

“As long as Prince likes me and what I do to him, I don’t need to be popular.”

Jon pulled his jacket tight around himself. He didn’t want to admit that he was maybe a little jealous of Tyler and Prince. They did love each other, and they were happy together. Tyler was even a  _ little _ bit less of an asshole than before they started dating. Love was softening him up. Tyler sighed.

“Mox, come on. I’m not gonna go spilling your fucking secrets to everyone. Like-not trying to get all girly on you but you can talk to me about shit.”

Jon didn’t look at Tyler.

“....I like him, okay, I said it. I don’t-I’m not gonna fucking do anything about it though so it doesn’t matter.”

Tyler popped his gum.

“Why not?”

“Cause he probably doesn’t feel the same way. Why would I embarrass myself like that?”

“Can you even like, physically  _ get _ embarrassed?”

Jon rolled his eyes.

“Not with most people, that’s why I cannonballed through that window at the party last weekend. But-Leakee is different.”

“Listen dude, I don’t see the appeal, but that may be because I’m hitched-”

Jon snort-laughed. Tyler and Prince had only known each other for a few months and had only met in-person a month ago.

“-but that dude likes you. It’s obvious. Maybe you’re both too stupid to see it.”

Jon stood, readying to punch Tyler in the stomach, before the other boy backed off, his hands in the air in surrender.

“Sorry, sorry, forgot you were sensitive about his-whatever it is-”

Jon still glared at Tyler, who rolled his eyes.

“C’mon, dude, I’ll buy you some of that weird Japanese crap you and Prince like to make up for it.”

“They’re just like curry-flavored chips, dude, they’re not that weird.”

They walked away from the park, arguing about what constituted a ‘weird’ flavor for different snacks.

\---

Jon opened his eyes, blinking up at the ceiling. His arms itched, and he pulled his jacket off, then his flannel, then his long-sleeved shirt, looking down at the wounds lining his forearms and biceps. There were cuts on top of cuts at this point, scar tissue built up thick in a few spots. He sighed. He needed to clean them again. He stood off of the mattress-he didn’t even like calling it a ‘bed’, it was just a ratty old thing on the floor-and headed to the bathroom. It was Thanksgiving, and he had to get ready to go to Leakee’s house. He even made sure to sew up his nicest pair of jeans, and that he had a clean, nice shirt-it was the same one he wore to meetings with the foster care people or to court, but it worked-because, as much as he hated it, he wanted Leakee’s family to think positively of him. 

He turned on the shower, unsurprised when the water didn’t get hot. His foster parents had turned off the water heater and had the electricity cut off right before they left, so he’d been taking cold showers for the week, living in darkness. They left the gas furnace on, so at least it was a warm darkness. Jon scrubbed himself down, grabbing rubbing alcohol and pouring some over the fresh wounds. It stung, but he didn’t mind. He liked that more than the initial pain, if he was being honest. 

Jon made sure to wash his hair and brush it out thoroughly, cleaning himself with soap three times in full. He stepped out, grabbing his towel and drying off, making sure his hair was as dry as possible before getting dressed. He looked at himself in the mirror; he looked….a little thin, if he was being honest. He’d taken the shirt in so that it fit better, and that helped, and his jeans were clean and didn’t look too shabby. It’d all have to do, Leakee would be here soon.

Jon’s head shot up as he was putting on his shoes when the door rang. He finished and walked up to the door to look through the peephole, opening it and frowning.

“What are you doing? I told you to pick me up at the corner, like always.”

Leakee had been smiling, but the smile faltered.

“I-thought you might like to not wait in the cold-why is it so dark in here-”

Jon turned away, heading back to his room for his coat. He had to use that outside now, instead of just his jacket. 

“Power’s out.”

Leakee had stepped inside the house. As long as he didn’t come into Jon’s room, it’d be fine, Jon kept thinking that to himself. The rest of the house looked normal, like anyone else’s house. 

“It-for how long?”

“Couple of days. Ever since-yeah, ever since my foster family went out of town.”

Jon came back out to the front room to see Leakee staring at him. 

“You’ve been-Jon, just come stay with me. I don’t want you to have to be in a house with no power or anything-”

“You don’t have to do that.”   
“Do what?”

“Help me. I don’t need it-”

“It doesn’t matter whether or not you need it, you’re my friend, friends help each other-”

Jon shut his mouth. He had almost responded with sarcasm, but...he just couldn’t bring himself to. He knew it’d upset Leakee. Jon closed his eyes and took a deep breath, stepping closer to Leakee.

“I don’t-I don’t mind this. Been in worse places for longer. And-you’re already having me over for a holiday, I don’t...I don’t wanna take too much from you.”

Leakee reached out, grabbing Jon’s hands.

“I-Jon...I wanna give all that to you, it’s not-you’re not overstepping or-anything like that. I want you to feel okay with me helping you.”

Standing in the only-sunlit-house, everything feeling oddly blue, with his hands being held by Leakee, Jon had to blush. He didn’t even feel bad about it this time. Jon bit his lip, stepping one little bit closer.

“I….if you really want-I could...maybe stay ‘til my foster family gets back. They’re gonna be gone until Monday, so-if you wanted me around that long, I could-until Sunday at least. I guess.”

Leakee reached up, cupping Jon’s face, tilting his head up so that they could make eye contact. It felt...intimate, alone together as they were, close and quiet. 

“Got any stuff you need to get?”

Jon nodded.

“Stay here.”   
Leakee did, waiting patiently by the door while Jon quickly tossed some things in his backpack. It was what he always used to pack when he’d run away from a place; two changes of clothes, whatever money he had, a fake I.D, his real I.D, some general toiletries. He was good at this, by now. He double-checked that he had everything and he closed his door, making sure the house was locked up before following Leakee out to the car. He still felt a little weird, knowing he’d be with Leakee for the rest of the week, but...it would be nice, he thought. Better than his dark, dingy bedroom. Leakee’s house had warm water and food and light and...well, it had Leakee.

“You okay?”

“Huh? Oh...yeah, man, just…”   
“Nervous?”

Jon laughed, curling up in the seat. 

“Yeah, if I’m being honest. Just hope I don’t...be myself too much.”

“Hey, don’t do that. I want you as you, Jon, not anyone else and not as a fraction of a whole.”

Jon felt the air in his throat catch. He turned his head away from Leakee and looked out the window, unsure of what to say in response to that. It was...unusual, for people to want him around in the way that Leakee did, and it was even more unusual for him to feel as good as he did with someone, in the way he felt with Leakee. Jon tried to put it out of his mind the rest of the way to the house, pulling his coat tight around him once they were there and out of the car. 

“So we’re gonna start here, but the actual dinner is at my grandparents’ house, I hope that’s okay.”

Jon nodded and followed Leakee inside, smiling at Leakee’s dad as he poked his head out of the kitchen.

“Hey, boys-Happy Thanksgiving, Jon, I’m thankful you could join us.”

Jon blushed and Leakee grabbed his hand.   
“C’mon, you can keep me company while I get ready.”

He let Leakee lead him to his bedroom and he set his bag in one corner.

“I’ll move my stuff when we get back, closer to the couch-”

Leakee turned, halfway in his closet. He tilted his head, that adorably confused look back on his face.

“Why do you need to move it?”

“Cause….figured I’m sleeping on the couch for the duration.”

Leakee blinked.

“Oh. Oh-I….kinda..figured we’d just share the bed in here?”

Jon’s face flushed immediately at that; of course the thought crossed his mind when he agreed to stay here, but he didn’t think that it would actually...happen. 

“Oh. That. That could work, yeah.”

“I mean-sorry, if-if you’re not comfortable with it, you don’t-but I can take the couch, you should get someplace nice-”

“No, I’m not-I’m fine with that. Sharing. We can-yeah.”

Leakee smiled softly and went back to digging through his clothes, pulling out nice slacks and a dress shirt. 

“Mind if I change in here?”

“Go ‘head.”

Leakee pulled his shirt off and Jon couldn’t not stare. He really was….wow. He was big-the only word Jon could really think was ‘meaty’, as silly as it was, but Leakee was thick with muscle and a layer of fat, and he was absolutely breathtaking. He pulled his sweats down and Jon still watched-he hadn’t been told not to-and felt the very strong urge to bite Leakee’s thighs. He even looked just as good in the new outfit, and he grabbed a hair tie, and Jon sat up straighter.

“Hey, c’mere.”

Leakee did, with a smile on his face, and he sat on the bed. Jon moved to sit behind him, easily and quickly working his hair into a somewhat fancy braid. Leakee just let him, humming quietly and happily. Jon tied his hair and moved back.

“Sorry-you can take that out if you want, I just-”   
Leakee ran his hands over his hair, smiling in a way that made his eyes crinkle a little.

“No, I-I love it.”

He stood and looked in the mirror hanging on his closet door, checking out his hair. He seemed impressed. 

“Jon, I-I really like this, where’d you learn to do that?”

“I...kinda had long hair, for a long time.”

And he still would, if it wasn’t for his foster family. They’d told him to cut it short or they’d shave it off, and he didn’t think he’d look great bald. Maybe a buzzcut, but not bald.

“Thank you. Today feels….a lot more special, with you here.”

Jon bit his lip and brought his knees up to his chest. Leakee sat next to him on the bed after pulling his shoes on. He grabbed the remote and let Jon pick what to watch-he almost always let Jon pick-and they talked while they waited, pressed arm-to-arm on the bed.

\---

Leakee flopped onto the mattress, groaning loudly. Jon did the same, letting out a quiet huff when he hit the bed. 

“God, that was...so much food.”

“So much good food.”

Thanksgiving had gone really well, at least as far as Jon could tell. He had really, really liked meeting Leakee’s extended family and spending time with them; there were a few cousins in particular that he’d bonded with, but he’d spent a lot of the day speaking quietly with Leakee’s grandfather. 

That had surprised a few people, Leakee included.

Jon didn’t really think anything of it; the old man and him ad some similar worldviews (though Jon had to wonder what that said about him, considering the fact that Leakee’s grandfather was a seasoned war veteran). He’d enjoyed the day, even when Leakee held his hand under the table while they prayed, and when Leakee had listed Jon in the things he was thankful for.

Jon groaned and rolled onto his side, facing his friend.

“You gonna be okay?”

“Mmm. Gonna sleep.”

Jon hummed and let himself scoot a little closer to Leakee. 

“We should probably take our shoes off, though.”   
Leakee turned his face to see Jon and pouted. It was...terribly cute, and Jon only barely held back from leaning in and kissing that cute pout. Leakee sat up, sighing and taking his shoes off. He stood and stretched, rubbing his stomach for a minute before walking over to his closet. 

“You wanna change, too?”

Jon froze for a second, before pushing his boots off all the way.

“Uh...don’t really...was gonna just sleep in this.”

It was a few seconds before he felt something hit his side. He jumped a little, looking at what Leakee had thrown at him; a shirt and a pair of sweatpants. 

“Oh-I didn’t-you don’t have to-”

“Not gonna make you sleep in freakin’ jeans, dude.”

Jon blushed and, in the midst of his embarrassment, didn’t think before taking his shirts off until he was bare. Leakee turned to look at him again, clearly about to say something, before he froze. His brown eyes went wide and Jon felt his breathing start to get panicked. He pulled the shirt that Leakee had given him on, crossing his arms over his chest and curling his fingers in the length of sleeves that hung over his hands. 

“J-”

“Don’t. Just ignore it.”

“I-Jon, I can’t ignore that-you-what happened to you?”

Jon pressed his lips into a tight line, unmoving. He could feel the frustration and anger building, and he knew he had to keep it under control, he knew he couldn’t blow up at Leakee, not like he always blew up at people. He didn’t want to ruin this.

“Nothing. It was nothing.”

Leakee came closer to him, and Jon could not bring himself to look at him.

“Jon-it wasn’t nothing, please-I’m not-I just wanna help-”

“You can’t. You can’t help everything and you can’t fix-”

Jon shut his eyes. He was not going to cry. He hated crying more than anything else in the world, he hated how it made him feel and he especially hated other people seeing him cry. 

“You can’t help this. I’m-I’m sorry, I-”

“Did...are those...from you, or-”

Jon, against every instinct screaming in his head, chose to be honest. 

“Yeah. I-I’ve been-for years, I’ve been doing it, and-I can’t-I don’t know how to talk about it-”

“Has no one ever-tried to help, or-”

Jon shook his head. 

“Christ, Jon. You-can I see them? I just-I need to make sure you’re-that they’re healing right-”

Jon bit his lip, but pulled the shirt back off. The only people who had seen him shirtless or even sleeveless in years were doctors, and he was deeply terrified of whatever was about to happen. He flinched when Leakee gently grabbed his wrists, pulling his arms up to look at them. Jon stared at the floor, unwilling to look anywhere else. 

“Jon…”   
“I know, okay? I know I’m-a fuckin’ disappointment-”

“What? No you’re not, why would-why would I ever be mad about this?”

Leakee’s voice was wet and heavy, and Jon managed to peek up at him, seeing tears right on the edge of big, scared brown eyes.

“Wh-I-cause-I know-I know I’m not supposed to and-look how many there are, I’m-fucking weak, Leakee-”

“You’re really not, Jon-don’t say that about yourself, you’re not weak-I just-I wanna know why you do it, but-I know it ain’t cause you’re weak. I know that.”

Jon bit down hard on his lip until he stopped feeling like he’d cry.

“Cause-I don’t-I feel like shit all the time an’ I dunno how to deal with it-feels like I can control this-this hurt is something I did an’ I need-I don’t know, I just-I hate living with those assholes and I hate that-there’s a lot I ain’t told you-this is the only way I can deal with it-”

Leakee guided him to sit on the bed, sitting next to him.

“What’s going on, Jon? I know-I know you don’t like telling people stuff about you and I know you don’t wanna seem weak or something like that, but-please, I need to know. Please?”

Jon squeezed his hands into fists, trying to think of how to explain everything. 

“....the power didn’t just go out at my house. My foster parents...they turned it off. And the water heater.”

“What?”

“They do stuff like that-if I’m in the shower, they’ll run the dishwasher or something-they insult me a lot and I try really hard not to let it get to me-they don’t hit me, they throw stuff sometimes-but-my foster sister...she’s the worst, she-she cut my hair when I got there cause I had to or they’d shave it, an’ she’s slapped me before, she takes my stuff and breaks it-and...she has a boyfriend-”

Jon did not at all want to tell Leakee this particular thing. Every atom in his person was screeching at him not to, but he couldn’t lie to him. Not him. Not at this point.

“I-he comes into my room and-I don’t really try to stop him anymore-’s been going on since I first met him an’ I don’t want it, I swear, I just can’t make him stop-”

“I’m gonna be sick-”

Jon watched as Leakee grabbed the small trash can next to his bed and retched into it. Jon...did not know what to do with that sort of reaction. 

“‘m-I’m really sorry Lea, I didn’t-I know it’s gross I know I’m gross, I’m sorry-”

Leakee sat up, covering his mouth with his hand for a minute. 

“No-it’s not-you’re not the awful thing here, Jon, good God-they’re-they’re fucking torturing you-”

Jon rubbed a hand over Leakee’s back. He hated how upset he’d made Leakee, but a part of him felt warmth at it, too. Just a spark in his core. No one had ever cared about him to the point that they got sick when they heard about the things that happened to him. 

“I-I know, but-it’ll be okay, I just-I turn eighteen soon, in-in less than a month, and I can work on gettin’ out-”

“Let me help. Please. Anything I can do-I can’t let you just-stay with those monsters anymore-”

Jon bit back the tears once again, reaching out and squeezing Leakee’s hand. 

“I meant it when I said you couldn’t help. It’s not-it’s not that I don’t want you-your help. But-I don’t need a savior, Leakee. I just...I need...a friend, I guess. Never really had one until you.”

Leakee squeezed his hand right back, just as tight. 

“Then I’ll do that. I’ll do anything for you, you’re-my absolute best friend, and-”

Leakee sniffled and Jon, despite what life experience had told him was okay to do, pulled him closer, until Leakee could rest his head on Jon’s shoulder. He felt...weird, about this entire thing, and he thought about Leakee calling him his ‘best friend’. He supposed it was accurate; they spent more time with each other than anyone else, they talked all the time, and Jon felt things for Leakee that he’d never felt before-both platonically and otherwise. They’d only known each other since August, and three and a half months almost didn’t seem like enough, but it was. Leakee had hammered, determined and resilient, through the walls that Jon had spent years building up around himself. And it felt good. It felt good to let Leakee into his life, even in moments like this, when it hurt. 

“You know you can always stay here, whenever you need it-and you never gotta feel bad about it, I want you here-”

“Gonna take me forever to really accept.”

“Then I’ll keep trying forever.”   
Jon laughed, wrapping his arms around Leakee’s shoulders. 

“You should go get some water. I’ll empty the trash.”

Leakee sniffled and sat up, looking at Jon with such a fond, warm look that Jon felt a real, physical jerk in his stomach. 

“Thank you for telling me everything, and-thank you for letting me help.”

Jon stood, and Leakee went to the bathroom to rinse his mouth clean. Jon pulled the shirt back on, realizing now how much it smelled like Leakee, and he let a few tears slip as he emptied the trash can into one of the big ones on the side of the house. This had been exhausting, in a way that Jon had never experienced. But, and he found this odd, he didn’t find himself regretting it. 

Jon walked back into the house and stopped in the kitchen, grabbing something for Leakee’s stomach. He came back into the bedroom to see Leakee laying down on the bed, one hand behind his head, the other resting on his middle. Jon handed him the glass of ginger ale and he sat up. 

“Thought that’d help.”   
“Thanks.”

Leakee sipped at it, both of them silent. 

“You-you know you help me a lot, right?”

Jon tilted his head. 

“How?”

Leakee sniffled again and wiped the back of his hand over his face, looking down at his lap. 

“You make me feel less stupid, and-I feel better about myself-I don’t feel like I’m stupid all the time, you made me-you helped me realize I’m not-I feel like I can do everything I wasn’t able to before I met you and I know I wouldn’t ever-and you help me not care about what people think cause you set-a really good example, I know you don’t think you do, but-you help me feel all the things I was never able to feel about myself.”

Jon was quiet for a few long moments. He didn’t know, even with how many times Leakee had called him his best friend, how many times he’d told Jon he loved him, that he’d helped Leakee like that. 

“You help me feel like ‘m not a total fuckup. And like-maybe I’m not-like maybe I can have better things. I’ve been scared the whole time we’ve been friends cause-I always feel like I fuck things up when I think they could be good-guess it’s like self-sabotage or something-and-I kept worrying that I’d do that with you an’ I didn’t wanna do that with you.”

“Can you try something for me?”

“I..maybe?”

Leakee looked Jon in the eye, and Jon didn’t break his gaze.

“The next time….the next time you wanna do something like that-hurting yourself-can you...can you call me? Or text me, or-just talk to me instead? Even if you do it, I don’t-I don’t want you to be alone.”

Jon nodded.

“I can’t….promise I’ll do great at that, but-I will try.”

He smiled at Leakee and took the glass from him, setting it on the little bedside table and grabbing the remote and a controller.

“Wanna watch something? Been meaning to show you the rest of Bob’s Burgers-”

Leakee nodded and laid down, the two of them watching tv and quietly talking until they fell asleep.

\---

Jon slowly opened his eyes, feeling warmer and more comfortable than he ever had in his life. 

The realization that he had to go back home today, surprisingly, only slightly soured it. 

He shifted and turned, having been held tight in Leakee’s arms. That had become the norm over the past few days; they’d fall asleep just laying next to each other, but they’d wake up in each other’s arms. Jon sighed and pressed his face against Leakee’s soft chest, letting out a quiet almost-moan. Leakee was so big and warm and soft, and his hair smelled like the nice oil he sometimes put in it before sleeping. Jon felt a large hand grip his hip, and he felt the vibrations of Leakee’s chest when he spoke. 

“Morning.”   
“Morning, Lea.”

Leakee half-opened one eye, smiling down at Jon.

“You coming with us?”

They had discussed the possibility of Jon coming to church with Leakee and his family; Leakee had been unsure of Jon’s faith or attitude towards faith, and Jon had needed to think about it. He had absolutely zero experience with churches, but he liked sharing experiences with Leakee. 

“Yeah. Promise I won’t start singin’ Op Ivy during the hymnals.”

Leakee laughed, a low, mesmerizing sound, and Jon blushed. 

“Don’t know if the pastor would mind, honestly.”

They laid there for a while longer, holding each other and just enjoying the warmth, before Leakee finally sat up and stretched. Jon just watched, until he had to get up too. He wasn’t sure what to expect, but Leakee’s fond smile helped him feel more secure about it. He even wrapped an arm around Jon on the way into the church, helping him warm up. They took their seats in the pews, Jon at the end, near the wall. He liked that Leakee knew that would be the best spot for him, that he knew that Jon needed an escape option. 

“Leakee-oh, who’s this? This that famous friend of yours?”

Jon jumped a little at the voice near him, turning his head to see who it belonged to; an older man, dressed like a priest. He had a friendly aura about him, and Jon felt oddly comfortable, even after the little shock.

“Yeah, actually-Father, this is Jon Moxley.”

The pastor held his hand out to Jon, and he shook it, and the pastor put his other hand on Jon’s shoulder. 

“Well it is my delight to finally meet you, son! Leakee could talk about you for hours, I swear.”

Jon blushed and ducked his head down. 

“It’s nice to meet you too-uh-Sir?”

“Call me Dusty, Jon.”

Jon nodded and Dusty looked back to Leakee. 

“Son, if you don’t mind, Miss Runnels is out of town still. Could you step in?”

Jon watched Leakee’s eyes go wide for a moment before he cleared his throat and nodded. 

“Uh-I’ll be back after the service, Jon-sorry-”

He followed Dusty to the front, taking a seat in front of the piano. Jon tilted his head, watching Leakee closely; he stretched his fingers and arms out, before beginning to play. Jon could do nothing but breathe as he listened to the tune, eyes fixated on Leakee. He was doing it so easily, playing so smoothly, and Jon had had no idea that Leakee could play the piano. Everyone filled the rest of the pews, and Leakee finished his song, as Dusty started the service. 

Jon enjoyed Dusty’s sermon more than he thought he would, though he was pretty sure that was at least partially due to Dusty’s actual delivery. The man had an energy. More than the sermon, Jon was enraptured every time Leakee began playing piano. He was amazing, and Jon could just make out his face while he played; he’d never seen the other boy so at peace.

The service didn’t take that long, and Jon was almost sad that it was over. Leakee played another piece as everyone milled about, leaving or chatting, and Jon waited in his seat until everyone had cleared out, Leakee’s parents having told him they’d be out front. Leakee finished the song and Jon stood, quietly walking up to the piano. The church felt...different, when it was empty. It was silent, and even Jon’s almost-silent footsteps felt like they echoed. He sat on the piano bench next to Leakee.

“I didn’t know you played.”

“Not many people do. No one from our school even goes to this church. ‘s one of the reasons why I play it here.”

“You don’t want anyone to know?”

Leakee shrugged.

“I mean...kinda? I always-I’ve always been kinda proud of it, of being able to-I taught myself piano and guitar and how to sing, but...it’s not the kind of proud I want people to know about, I guess.”

Jon bit his lip. 

“Do you know ‘How Can I Keep From Singing’?”

Leakee looked at him and nodded, shutting his eyes and beginning the song. Jon took a deep breath, before quietly singing along. He hadn’t sung in front of anyone since he was a young child, and he wasn’t great at it-he still did it, but he was realistic. It was so easy to sing along right now, here in this church, sitting next to Leakee. It wasn’t a terribly lengthy song, and Jon traced his fingers over the piano keys once it was over. 

“Can’t believe you know a hymn.”

Jon shrugged.

“Uhh...back when I was...like, a kid, I guess, my mom-she used to sing that. That and a couple of others. Always kinda stuck with me.”

“That was beautiful, boys.”

They both jumped a little and turned to see Dusty standing in the aisle. Jon’s face flushed what was surely a deep red, and he cleared his throat. 

“Uh….thanks, Dusty.”

“I’m happy you joined us today, Jon. I hope to see you at many more services.”

“I’d...like to come to more.”

Dusty smiled at them, and it really did give the entire building an aura of peace.

“You’re both always welcome here.”

Jon and Leakee stood, smiling at each other, and they made their way outside, to Leakee’s parents, heading home. Jon knew he didn’t live there-and he was still dreading having to go back to his house, to  clean up and make sure everything was in order for his foster family-but he really did feel like the place he could be with Leakee was the only place worth calling ‘home’.


End file.
